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Sunday, March 13, 2022 6:09:12 PM
Why doesn't Ukraine attack the Russian convoy? And other questions
"Ukraine: How might the war end? Five scenarios"
Published 4 March
A soldier looks down his scope down towards the highway near Sytnyaky, Ukraine Getty Images
It's more than a week since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Residents of the capital Kyiv and several other cities are under bombardment from Russian missiles.
A nuclear power station also came under attack, causing an international outcry.
Readers of the BBC News website have been sending in questions about the situation. Some of them are answered here by:
James Waterhouse, reporting for the BBC from Kyiv
Frank Gardner, the BBC's security editor
Prof Claire Corkhill, nuclear materials expert at the University of Sheffield
The bigger picture - Frank Gardner
How is military aid getting into Ukraine? Why doesn't the Ukrainian air force attack the long Russian convoy? - David Finch
Ukraine's western border with Poland and other Nato countries is still not in Russian hands (the Russian invasion has come from the three other sides - north, south and east), so there is still a corridor for supplies to come in.
The Black Sea coast however is now largely under Russian control and deemed unsafe for most shipping.
Everyone is baffled as to why Ukraine has not done more to attack the Russian convoy as it is a sitting duck for drone and airstrikes.
There are several possible explanations, Ukraine may be running out of armed drones and its small, outnumbered air force may be wary of being shot down by Russian air defence batteries.
Ben Barry from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) suggests the Ukrainians may well be safeguarding what resources they do have in readiness to counter-attack when the Russians get closer to Kyiv.
What exactly will it take for Western powers to get involved here? - Rob Frank
The West has made it clear it will only get involved militarily if Russia attacks a Nato country. Ukraine is not in Nato but nearby countries Poland and the Baltic states are, hence Nato has been rushing reinforcements to bolster those countries' borders.
That said, Western countries are supplying Ukraine with "defensive" equipment to help it try to repel the Russian invasion. This includes anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles.
Some are calling for Nato to introduce a no-fly zone to stop Russian planes from carrying out airstrikes on Ukrainian cities. But Nato says it won't do that as it would entail shooting down Russian planes and that could lead to war with Russia.
So far I have heard nothing about prisoners of war. Are both sides taking any? - David Taylor
Yes. There are reports of Russian conscripts who have been taken prisoner and been given mobile phones to call home.
Their families, we are told, thought they were just being sent to the Donbas region on a small operation, or even an exercise, but certainly not a full-scale invasion.
Does Nato have any strategy for Russia attacking operational nuclear plants in Ukraine? - Barry Johnson
I don't think anyone even foresaw this, but beyond a lot of rhetoric condemning it as reckless and unacceptable, there's not a lot the West can do, short of military intervention. This has been ruled out, as there are full-scale battles raging across Ukraine.
On the other hand, it is not in Russia's interest to have a nuclear contamination disaster so close to its borders so the scenario of a nuclear plant being targeted may not be repeated.
Continued - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60617145
"Ukraine: How might the war end? Five scenarios"
Published 4 March
A soldier looks down his scope down towards the highway near Sytnyaky, Ukraine Getty Images
It's more than a week since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Residents of the capital Kyiv and several other cities are under bombardment from Russian missiles.
A nuclear power station also came under attack, causing an international outcry.
Readers of the BBC News website have been sending in questions about the situation. Some of them are answered here by:
James Waterhouse, reporting for the BBC from Kyiv
Frank Gardner, the BBC's security editor
Prof Claire Corkhill, nuclear materials expert at the University of Sheffield
The bigger picture - Frank Gardner
How is military aid getting into Ukraine? Why doesn't the Ukrainian air force attack the long Russian convoy? - David Finch
Ukraine's western border with Poland and other Nato countries is still not in Russian hands (the Russian invasion has come from the three other sides - north, south and east), so there is still a corridor for supplies to come in.
The Black Sea coast however is now largely under Russian control and deemed unsafe for most shipping.
Everyone is baffled as to why Ukraine has not done more to attack the Russian convoy as it is a sitting duck for drone and airstrikes.
There are several possible explanations, Ukraine may be running out of armed drones and its small, outnumbered air force may be wary of being shot down by Russian air defence batteries.
Ben Barry from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) suggests the Ukrainians may well be safeguarding what resources they do have in readiness to counter-attack when the Russians get closer to Kyiv.
What exactly will it take for Western powers to get involved here? - Rob Frank
The West has made it clear it will only get involved militarily if Russia attacks a Nato country. Ukraine is not in Nato but nearby countries Poland and the Baltic states are, hence Nato has been rushing reinforcements to bolster those countries' borders.
That said, Western countries are supplying Ukraine with "defensive" equipment to help it try to repel the Russian invasion. This includes anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles.
Some are calling for Nato to introduce a no-fly zone to stop Russian planes from carrying out airstrikes on Ukrainian cities. But Nato says it won't do that as it would entail shooting down Russian planes and that could lead to war with Russia.
So far I have heard nothing about prisoners of war. Are both sides taking any? - David Taylor
Yes. There are reports of Russian conscripts who have been taken prisoner and been given mobile phones to call home.
Their families, we are told, thought they were just being sent to the Donbas region on a small operation, or even an exercise, but certainly not a full-scale invasion.
Does Nato have any strategy for Russia attacking operational nuclear plants in Ukraine? - Barry Johnson
I don't think anyone even foresaw this, but beyond a lot of rhetoric condemning it as reckless and unacceptable, there's not a lot the West can do, short of military intervention. This has been ruled out, as there are full-scale battles raging across Ukraine.
On the other hand, it is not in Russia's interest to have a nuclear contamination disaster so close to its borders so the scenario of a nuclear plant being targeted may not be repeated.
Continued - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60617145
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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